Lewis takes German title

Adrian Lewis defeated Ian White 6-3 in an all-Stoke final to claim the German Darts Masters title at the Glaspalast in Sindelfingen.

Last Updated: 12/09/12 12:17pm

Adrian Lewis: Winner of German title

Adrian Lewis defeated Ian White 6-3 in an all-Stoke final to claim the German Darts Masters title at the Glaspalast in Sindelfingen on Sunday.

Lewis claimed his first individual title since retaining the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship crown in January.

The world number two produced some brilliant darts throughout his six matches, dropping only three legs in his first three games as he defeated Darren Johnson, Peter Hudson and Michael Mansell 6-1.

After seeing off Tony West 6-3 in the quarter-finals, he then overcame world number three James Wade 6-1 and swept aside the challenge of White - often his practice partner at home in Stoke - to claim the £15,000 first prize.

Lewis won the final's first three legs without reply, opening with a 14-dart finish and then landing back-to-back 180s in taking the second in 12 darts, before taking out 80 with two double tops in the third.

180s

The pair traded 180s in the fourth before White landed double 16 for a 13-darter, and he then superbly checked out 128 to pull back to 3-2 - only to miss key doubles at the bottom of the board in the next two legs, with double 19, double 17 and then double 16 proving elusive as Lewis moved 5-2 up.

White finished 107 to win a third leg, but Lewis landed his sixth 180 of the final in leg nine and hit double top to secure the title.

The tournament was Lewis' first since the summer break, which had seen him marry partner Sarah, and the 27-year-old is hoping to take this form into the year's remaining majors - beginning in a fortnight at the PartyPoker.net European Championship.

"The weekend couldn't have gone any better for me," said Lewis. "I've been putting the hard work in, and to win this tournament means a lot to me.

"I doubted myself in patches in some games, but I've come through strongly at the end. I kept focused and was pretty consistent and it's a massive confidence boost for me.

Patchy

"I've had a poor year and been very patchy, so to go up there and win this with the quality of the field which was in this tournament is great.

"I love playing over in Europe and we're back in a couple of weeks for the European Championship. I'm really looking forward to it now."

Lewis added: "I'm very proud of Ian. He was probably third in the BDO rankings when I offered to sponsor him to come onto the PDC circuit, and I told him that I think he can be a top eight player.

"For him to hit a nine-darter and reach the final is fantastic, but it's only the beginning of things for him as he's a great player."

White had hit a sensational nine-darter finish earlier on Sunday during his third round win over Andy Hamilton, and he went on to defeat Robert Thornton in a deciding leg in the quarter-finals and then saw off Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 in the semis.